Wakaba Oak
Wakaba Oak 'A minor character in the 07-Ghost manga and anime series. He is Shuri Oak's father, and Hakuren Oak's uncle. History Wakaba comes from the prestigious Oak family. He is the Barsburg Army's field marshal after Miroku, and has held the post for more than ten years since the Raggs' War (manga chapter 66 shows that he personally oversaw the experimentation on the Eye of Raphael and Ouka at the time). Appearance Wakaba Oak is not very tall, though his official height is unknown, he appears a few inches taller than his son who is around 5 foot 5, which puts Wakaba roughly at a height of 5 foot 7. His weight is unknown. Wakaba appears to be around his late 40's in age, as he has wrinkles round his eyes as well as marionette lines round his mouth. His face is masculine, diamond-shaped, with a strong jaw. He has a small mouth, with full lips and large, narrowed eyes (medium purple in the anime) and a large, crooked nose. Wakaba has a strinking resemblance to his son, Shuri Oak, and like his son has fair skin and pale blonde hair, and like many from the Oak family, Wakaba has long eye-lashes on his bottom lid. Keeping with the Oak family tradition, Wakaba also wears earings. Wakaba's military uniform consists of a black or dark blue, ankle-length overcoat with gold trimmings on the chest, sleeve cuffs and neck-guard. He wears black trousers and knee-length black, buckled boots and white gloves. His uniform has a small half mantle hanging off his left shoulder emblazoned with the Barsburg Military insignia. As the field marshal and the leader of the First Fleet, his uniform is more decorated than other generals and he has a golden epaulet and shoulder boards. It is unknown what is worn under the overcoat but it is possible it is a plain white shirt (as Mikage was shown wearing one when in the Military uniform). Personality Wakaba Oak is a nationalist. He values the interests of his counrtry above everything else. Because of this, he could be unsympathetic to others (even the princess of Barsburg), as he supports the view that it is right for his country to attack Raggs for Raggs' rich resources. After Raggs' fall, when there is evidence that the host of the Eye of Mikhail is alive, he thinks they should disillutionize the hope of the people from Raggs by offering the public false information, claiming that the Eye of Raphael has malfunctioned, and then he orders the Chief of Staff to search the Church and eliminate anyone who can use the Eye of Mikhail if discovered (episode 22), even if he (Wakaba) has to bear the brunt (as the Church is a no-soldiers zone). He also thinks that feuds between individuals should give way to Barsburgs' interests. When some generals who hate Ayanami suggest demoting or executing Ayanami for he has flown in a no-flight zone and caused casualty, Wakaba reminds them that it is the appearance of the Eye of Mikhail, a great threat to Barsburg, that is the matter to be discussed, not the punishment for Ayanami. He talks with other people in a friendly or polite way, even to those whose ranks are much lower than his (e.g Konatsu), and seems to have a fair relationship with other colleagues, as he is congradulated by the officers when he told them about his son's graduation. It seems that he adopts a fairly open policy with his direct subordinates, as one of them frankly asks his boss whether it is good to let Shuri stay in the Black Hawks, and Wakaba gave him a reason (manga chapter 28). Wakaba is a confident man, as in chapter 62 he smiles and says, "Interesting", when he thinks that he is probably Ayanami's next target to remove from the army. He is also quite cunning, sometimes uses silly/humorous acts to cover his real purpose. One example is when he cheerfully tells Hyuuga to take his son to Ayanami and then beats a hasty retreat. It is not until Shuri sees Ayanami that the Black Hawks know Wakaba's real purpose was to make Shuri Ayanami's Begleiter. Relationships With his subordinates [[Ayanami|'Ayanami:]] Wakaba is suspicious of Ayanami. In a manga chapter, Oak wonders if he will be Ayanami's next target, and does not believe that Ayanami played no part in the death of Major-General Ogi despite his alibi; saying it looks so 'guiltless' he cannot help but think it 'fishy'. However, Wakaba may think that Ayanami is the model of a good soldier and that it would be a shame if he is removed from the army, as he has protected Ayanami's position as the Chief of Staff twice when other generals who dislike Ayanami suggest demoting him. Upon hearing that two fleet ships crashed during a confrontation with the Eye of Mikhail, Wakaba's immediate response was to ask if Ayanami was alright. He has also sent his own son, Shuri, who has just graduated, to work for Ayanami as his Begleiter (possibly hoping that Ayanami could turn Shuri into a better soldier or to put a "spy" in the Black Hawks (as Shuri will tell his father anything he sees in the Black Hawks when asked).) Konatsu: It seems that Wakaba has confidence in Konatsu's ability and personality, as he has entrusted Shuri to him. With his relatives [[Shuri Oak|'Shuri:']] Wakaba seems to be kind towards his son, supporting him emotionally (e.g he let a teary Shuri run into his arms and encourages him) and career-wise (e.g assign Shuri as the Chief of Staff's Begleiter). Wakaba also seems to be very proud of Shuri, proudly anouncing to his colleagues that his son has graduated from the military academy, although Shuri had panicked in the graduation exam in which he was asked to kill a man and would have failed it if his father was not the field marshal. Manga Synopsis He plays a very small role in the anime, but he has a somewhat more significant role in the manga. He first appears at a meeting with other generals where he explains that what they worry most, the appearance of the Eye of Mikhail's host, has become reality (because the Church can crown the new host king and revive the Raggs Kingdom), and they must do anything, including eliminating the leftover descendant(s) of Raggs and offering the public false information, to protect Barsburg's present territories. He is later seen in another meeting when Ayanami returns from Antwort and offers him the Eye of Mikhail as well as asking for Wakaba's approval to let him pursuit the Eye's host. After the meeting, Ayanami accompanies him to see Shuri who has just returned from Antowrt with the Black Hawks. Shuri runs into Wakaba's arms in tears, and he comforts and encourages Shuri. He notices Yukinami and Suzunami are following closely behind Ayanami, and says it is a pity that Shuri cannot be Ayanami's Begleiter "because you have already had (these two as) Begleiters". This sounds like Marshal Oak has decided that Shuri will not stay in the Black Hawks. However, he then entrusts Shuri to Konatsu after seeing how attached Shuri has become of him. Trivia *In Japanese, "wakaba" means "young leaf" or "verdure leaf". It is also the name for a Japanese destroyer. *Wakaba is the eldest son of the family, and has a younger brother whose son is Hakuren. (Mini-drama in the 12th Limited Anime DVD) *Wakaba's residence is close to Hohburg (manga chapter 74). *Many fans are unsympathetic towards Wakaba's seeming death in manga chapter 74 while some are happy to see it. Category:Characters Category:Military members Category:Male Category:Minor characters